Rémi Fronzes, CNRS Research Director in the Microbiologie Fondamentale et Pathogénicité (MFP) unit, is team leader at IECB. His team has a recognized expertise in the study of bacterial systems responsible for transferring proteins and/or DNA across the cell wall.
Already a two-time winner of European funding (Starting Grant in 2011 and Consolidator Grant in 2016), Rémi Fronzes has just received support from the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) for his project entitled “Molecular architecture and function of type 7 antibacterial secretion systems”.

The “FRM 2024 team” label has been awarded to about forty recognized research teams in the fields of biology and health. These teams are developing innovative research programs likely to have an impact on healthcare. 

The FRM funding of €400,000, awarded for the next 3 years, will enable Rémi Fronzes's team to continue their work on Type VII secretion systems (T7SS), molecular complexes that are essential for bacterial competition and pathogen virulence. In collaboration with Grégory Giannone's team (IINS, Bordeaux), this project combines cutting-edge approaches in structural biology and imaging to understand the architecture and function of these systems at different scales, from single molecules to bacterial populations.

The results of this research could open new perspectives in understanding the natural mechanisms regulating bacterial populations. Indeed, Type VII secretion systems play a key role in bacterial interactions and contribute to microbiota balance, particularly in the gut. Understanding how these systems allow beneficial bacteria to control the proliferation of other species could have important applications in healthcare, especially in a context where microbiota modulation is emerging as a promising therapeutic approach.

https://www.frm.org/fr

https://www.iecb.u-bordeaux.fr/en/teams/fronzes-team